


need someone like you in my life

by onlyeverthus



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeverthus/pseuds/onlyeverthus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose is having a hard time adjusting to her new life in Pete's World after the events of Doomsday, until she becomes friends with the teacher of one of her night classes, Clara Oswald.</p>
            </blockquote>





	need someone like you in my life

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [DW Secret Santa](http://dwsecretsanta.tumblr.com/), as a gift for [Jessica](http://whatswrongwithblue.tumblr.com/) <333

Clara watches her class slowly filter from the room, though her gaze keeps flicking to the blonde in the back of the room. Rose is quietly putting her things away, taking her time, and Clara knows she's waiting until everybody's gone before standing to leave.

Clara always tries to get to know her students, both children and adults alike; sometimes it's by talking to them, and sometimes it's by observing them. Usually after a couple of weeks, she knows most of them fairly well, and even though her adult English class only meets for two hours three times a week, she's gotten them down pretty well too.

Rose is still a partial mystery, however. She arrives just before class begins and always sits in the back, but is always the last to leave. Clara thought at first that it was because she didn't want to socialize with the rest of the class, but she could just as easily avoid that if she was first to leave, so then Clara figured something was making her not want to go home.

But Clara hasn't yet had a chance to talk to the other woman. She doesn't participate much in class, and so far, all of her work is done on time, with few mistakes, none worth having a conference about. Clara never has much of a chance to talk to her after class, because Clara is usually occupied with getting her things together or talking to other students, and by the time she finishes, Rose is gone.

Tonight, Clara hopes to change that, and she takes a breath as she walks to the back of the room, just as Rose stands.

"Rose," Clara says quickly, making the other woman look up, her expression somewhat startled.

"Ms. Oswald," she says quietly, her gaze flicking quickly to the desk at the front of the room before looking back at Clara. "Is there something wrong with my assignment?"

"Oh, no, it's not that, I just – I wanted to see – to check –" She breaks off, and gives a brief shake of her head as she closes her eyes. "It's clearly been a long day."

Rose laughs softly, and Clara opens her eyes, the corner of her mouth rising at the sound of Rose's laughter.

"Is everything all right?" Clara asks finally, raising her eyebrows.

Rose looks flustered, and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Everything's fine, ma'am."

"Don't call me 'ma'am'," Clara says, holding up her hand. "I'm barely older than you are. Just call me Clara."

Rose smiles, and nods. "Okay."

Clara smiles back. "Well, I want you to know, if it's ever not, and if you ever want to talk – you know, about anything – I'm here."

Rose flashes a tight smile, and nods once more as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder. "Thanks, Clara. I'll, um, I'll see you next week."

Clara nods, turning to watch Rose leave, and sighs when she's gone, propping her hand on her hip before heading back to her desk to finish packing up.

 

 

They don't speak again until the following Wednesday. Clara isn't sure how it happened, but the discussion in class somehow veered onto the topic of space travel, and as she tried to bring the class under control, she noticed Rose in the back looking distinctly upset.

Afterward, she approaches Rose's desk yet again, and turns her head to the side as she looks at the other woman.

"Rose, what happened earlier?"

Rose shakes her head, sniffling as she closes her binder and pushes to stand. "It's – you wouldn't understand."

Clara raises her eyebrows when Rose looks up at her. "Try me. How about we grab a drink? You look like you could use one."

Rose considers her a moment, looking for a moment like she wants to say no, and then nods, sniffling once more as she walks with Clara to the front of the room.

A few minutes later, they're seated in a nearby pub, each with a pint of beer and a basket of chips. They're quiet for a couple of minutes, sipping their beer, eating their chips, Clara waiting for Rose to speak first.

"You're gonna think it's stupid," Rose finally murmurs, shaking her head.

"I promise I won't. If it's something that bothers you this much, it's not stupid."

Rose meets Clara's gaze, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips, and then nods as she takes a breath.

"It's – it's a guy. And that really does sound dumb, but it's so much more complicated that just being about a guy. It's – it was my entire life."

"Does it have to do with space travel?" Rose looks up, her eyes a little wide, and Clara shrugs. "I noticed you got upset when the class was talking about it earlier. Plus, I know you work for Torchwood."

Rose gives a hollow laugh. "I keep forgetting you lot know so much more about that stuff."

"Zeppelins in the sky, and a government agency that deals exclusively with aliens and outer space, it's not much to imagine what all might be out there."

"Yeah. The whole story is just so crazy when I think about saying it out loud to someone who doesn't already know about it."

Clara shifts in her seat. "Well, I know you don't necessarily want to go home, so we can sit in this pub all night, if you like. And if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to; we can talk about something else."

Rose nods, popping a chip into her mouth.

"The guy," she says when she swallows. "He's a man called the Doctor. I mean, he's an alien, but he looks like a man. Just like a human, really, except he has two hearts. And he has this box, called a TARDIS, and it travels both in space, and in time."

"Space _and_ time traveler, that's impressive."

Rose smiles as she eats another chip, and wipes the grease from her fingers before reaching for her beer.

"I used to live on another world," she continues. "A parallel Earth, but something happened, and we, like... fell through the barrier between the worlds, and ended up here. And when that happened, it weakened the barrier, and there was a Torchwood on that other Earth, and they started using that weak spot, and it was really bad. And the Doctor tried to close it, and – and it went wrong, and I got trapped here. Away from him."

Rose breaks off abruptly, and Clara gives her a second before she says, "You were in love with him."

Rose nods, swiping quickly at her nose. "I didn't want to leave him. I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him, and then –" She blows out a breath, and shakes her head. "And it's been a year now, and I know I should be over it, but I just – I can't. It still hurts so much. I still don't know how to live without him."

"I know how hard that must be," Clara murmurs. "To have such a fantastic life, and see so many amazing things, and then to lose it all, just like that."

Rose nods again. "I'm trying. I mean, I finally moved out of my mum and dad's house and got my own flat, I'm taking night classes for my A levels, but every morning when I wake up, I look out my window, hoping to see that blue box waiting for me. I don't know how to get used to this kind of life again."

"I guess that's why you don't want to go home?"

"Yeah. It's just me, and it's so quiet, and when I go home, I'm just there. I do my homework, watch some telly, and go to bed. And it's so boring."

"Maybe things would be better if you made some friends in your classes," Clara suggests gently.

"I know," Rose mutters. "I know. But it's just hard. I feel like I can't relate to anybody. Not to mention that I was 20 on my Earth, but you lot are three years ahead, so I had to move my birth year up, and it just feels weird to have my birthday be April 27, 1990, instead of April 27, 1987. It's daft, I know, but –"

"It was part of who you were."

"Yeah," Rose says quietly, her head bobbing in a quick nod. She looks up at Clara, her expression curious. "I'm not even sure why I told you about all of this, I just felt like – you wouldn't think I was crazy."

"Well, I'm not ruling that out yet _completely_ ," Clara says, raising her eyebrows, and grins when Rose laughs.

"I know how it feels to lose someone you love," Clara continues. "My boyfriend Danny died four years ago when the Cybermen thing happened –"

"That was the first time we were here," Rose says, her eyebrows knitting together. "I'm so sorry about your boyfriend."

Clara smiles a little sadly. "I loved him a lot. Thought maybe one day we'd get married. And it took a while before I was finally ready to start dating again, but eventually I was, and even though I still miss him sometimes, I know he would've wanted me to move on. I'm sure your Doctor would want the same for you, and one day, you'll find someone new to love, and hopefully they'll be able to understand what your Doctor meant to you, and that you'll always love him, and that you have enough love for both, even if you don't have two hearts."

Rose smiles at that, her eyes shining, and Clara smiles back.

"Just open yourself up, Rose, okay? Let people in, because from what I've seen, you're a pretty fantastic person, and everybody needs someone like you in their lives."

Rose nods, sending tears rolling down her cheeks, and laughs softly as she wipes him away.

"Thank you, Clara. This has actually made me feel a little bit better. I guess I just needed someone else to talk to."

"Well, like I said before, I'm always here to listen."

Rose nods, her lips curved in a smile. "Thanks."

 

 

Slowly, Rose begins to open up. She participates more in class, raising her hand and offering insights that make Clara find her even more intriguing. She starts arriving early enough to talk to the other students, and by November, is going out with them regularly after class.

She and Clara become closer as well, spending time together on the weekends, going shopping and to the cinema, sometimes just walking around the park near Rose's flat, and eventually they start inviting each other over for dinner. Rose tells Clara all about her travels with the Doctor, all of the people she met and places she saw, and finds that talking about it with someone new gradually starts to ease the pain.

One Friday night in November, Clara overhears some of the students ask Rose if she wants to go to the pub with them, but frowns when Rose turns them down, saying she has to get home.

Once the rest of the class is gone, Rose approaches Clara's desk, raising her eyebrows as she adjusts her bag on her shoulder.

"You want to grab a drink?"

Clara frowns again. "You just told the others you had to get home."

There's an intense moment of silence, during which Rose bites down on her lip, and then she shifts on her feet as she shrugs. "I, um – I'd just rather hang out with you."

A wide smile curves Clara's lips, and she nods. "All right. Let's just make sure we don't go to the one they're going to."

Rose laughs and nods, and once Clara has her things together, they leave the classroom.

"So, how are the rest of your classes going?" Clara asks when they're seated with a pint each, sharing a large basket of chips.

"Not bad. I'm terrible at maths, so it's my hardest one right now, but I'm doing pretty okay with it too."

"Well, I'm pretty good with it, so if you need help, you can always ask."

"I just might take you up on that," Rose replies with a grin. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Rubbish at technology," Clara replies, crinkling her nose. "Danny used to always groan when I tried to do anything with my phone, because most of the time, I'd get confused and have to ask him for help. And don't even get me started on the internet. I mean, I can use it, but the second it starts acting weird, I'm on the phone with the internet people."

Rose laughs. "Okay, you can help me with maths, and I can help you with your internet."

"Sounds like a plan," Clara says, laughing too.

They hold each other's gazes for a long moment, both of them smiling, and then the moment is broken by the crash of someone knocking a chair to the floor. Clara blinks and clears her throat as she pushes to stand.

"I'll go get us some refills."

It's not long before they're both properly drunk, and Rose suddenly thinks it's a good idea to try to throw darts at the dartboard.

"Rose, I don't – I don't think you should," Clara stammers as she hurries after the other girl.

"No, I can totally do it!" Rose exclaims, waving her hand and stumbling a little.

Clara grabs her around the waist, both of them giggling, and Rose lifts one of the darts in her hand.

"I can do it, watch." She takes a second to aim, and then sends the dart sailing. It hits the wall at a crooked angle and bounces off, clattering to the floor.

Rose dissolves into giggles, leaning against Clara for support, and Clara can't help noticing how beautiful she is, and also how close they are now.

Clara is faced with a sudden confusion of feelings, and a very intense urge to kiss the other girl, and she straightens the wobbly Rose, feeling her cheeks burning as she glances back at their table.

"I think it's time to call it a night."

"Yeah," Rose replies, still giggling as she allows Clara to lead her over so they can get their things before calling a cab to take them home.

 

 

The next afternoon, Clara steps into her dad's house, smiling when she finds him on the couch in his study, a book in his hands.

"Hey, Dad," she murmurs, bending over the back of the couch to kiss his cheek.

"Hello, love," he replies, smiling too when she walks around to sit down beside him. "Bit early for dinner."

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you about something."

"All right," he says, closing his book and setting it aside.

Clara shifts to face him, toeing her shoes off and settling cross-legged with her hands in her lap, and takes a breath.

"I like somebody."

"Okay," Dave replies, looking amused.

"It's a student."

Dave's smile fades, but before he can say anything, Clara waves her hands. 

"No! No, no, not one of those students; someone from one of my night classes. An adult."

"Okay, that's slightly less worrying. Are you asking me if I think you dating one of your students is okay?"

"Sort of?" Clara shrugs. "I don't know, I mean, I really, really like her –"

"Her?" Dave interrupts, raising his eyebrows. "It's a girl?"

Clara twists her hands in her lap as she bites her lip. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no, not at all. Just something new, but that – it's fine." He waves his hand. "Okay, go on."

"Ball's in your court, Dad."

"Oh, right. Well." He pauses a moment, looking thoughtful, and then shakes his head. "I want you to be happy, Clara, and there's no real law against it, since you're both adults, though I suppose you should check to see if it's against the rules at the school. But if you think you can handle it, and as long as you don't think she'll expect any kind of preferential treatment –"

"No," Clara murmurs, shaking her head as the corner of her mouth rises. "In fact, I think she'd get mad at me if I treated her differently."

Dave smiles. "Then I say go for it, sweetheart, especially if she makes you happy. I know you've been on dates since Danny died, but none of them seemed to really... stick for you, and I want you to take every opportunity you have to fall in love again."

Clara smiles too, and leans forward to hug her father. "Thanks, Dad."

 

 

The only trouble with Clara's feelings for Rose now are that she doesn't know if Rose reciprocates them, so she decides to wait and see what happens.

Meanwhile, they continue spending almost all of their free time together, and the first Saturday in December, Rose goes over to Clara's for dinner. After they eat, Rose doesn't want to leave anymore than Clara seems to want her to go, and they spend so much time talking that they end up falling asleep together on the couch.

Rose wakes up first early Sunday morning, squinting groggily in the sunlight streaming through the windows. She can't figure out where she is at first, and then remembers having dinner with Clara the night before, and sitting up all night talking.

A smile curves her lips, and then she abruptly realizes she's using Clara's thigh as a pillow. She sits up with a quiet gasp, eyes wide as she stares at the other woman, still asleep with her head on a throw pillow.

It's been so easy to talk to Clara these past few months, and Rose has been able to tell her _everything_ , because somehow, Clara believes everything Rose tells her about traveling through space and time and dimensions.

"Why shouldn't I believe you?" Clara said one day. "Why shouldn't things like time and space travel be possible, just because we haven't figured them out yet? The universe is vast and mysterious, and I can tell, just from the way you talk about it, that you've seen far more than anyone else has."

Talking about her experiences with Clara has been nice, but it's also been helping Rose to put her past behind her, where it belongs. She still misses the Doctor, and still feels an occasional pain in her heart when she thinks about him, but she no longer wakes up in the morning and looks out the window for the TARDIS. She still enjoys working for Torchwood, but she sees it now as a way to help out in this universe, rather than a way of somehow getting back to the Doctor. She sees a future for herself now, and is starting to enjoy working towards it.

And most of all, she's enjoyed getting to know Clara. The other woman is so kind, and so smart, and very funny, sometimes without meaning to be. Occasionally she gets overexcited about things, and starts talking so fast that eventually Rose can do nothing more but slump over the table or down into her seat from laughing so hard.

Clara's also so beautiful, with her long brown hair and big brown eyes, and cute little nose that just –

Rose freezes, eyes widening again as a realization hits her rather suddenly, and pushes to stand, finding her shoes under the coffee table and her purse on the floor. She writes a quick note for Clara, and then quietly leaves the apartment.

After a few hours spent thinking, Rose decides to go visit her parents.

"Mum?" she calls as she pushes into the house. "Dad?"

"In here, sweetheart," Jackie calls back.

Rose follows the sound of her mother's voice to the kitchen, and Jackie smiles when she sees her daughter.

"Hello," she says, coming to give Rose a hug. "I was just making lunch, d'you want a sandwich?"

"Sure," Rose replies, smiling as she grabs a can of pop from the fridge before settling onto a stool at the island. "Where's Dad?"

"Out shopping," Jackie says airily. "He said he was going to the market, but I think he's doing a bit of Christmas shopping too."

Rose laughs and nods, and listens as Jackie prattles on about the neighbors, what Pete's up to at work, how her pregnancy is going.

"And how are you, sweetheart?" she asks as she sets Rose's plate in front of her. "Are your classes going well?"

"Yeah, pretty well."

"And work too?"

"Yeah, Torchwood is Torchwood."

"Are you and that Clara girl still spending time together? She's a good friend for you, I like how much happier you've been since you started going round with her."

Rose nods, staring at her sandwich before she takes a bite. "Yeah, Clara and I are still hanging out."

"You should bring her over for dinner one night," Jackie says, eyeing Rose significantly. "So we can meet her too."

There's a beat of silence, and then Rose takes a breath. "Mum, if I started seeing someone... would it matter to you who they were?"

Jackie considers her for a moment, and then raises her eyebrows. "As long as you're happy, sweetheart, and as long as they treat you right, that's all that matters to me. I just want to meet them properly, so _whoever_ it is, I want you to bring them round the house."

Rose bites down on her lip as she smiles, knowing the meaning behind Jackie's words, and nods as she picks up her sandwich again.

 

 

Christmas night, Rose sends Clara a message, asking to meet at the small park near Rose's apartment that they like to take walks in.

"There's something clandestine about all of this," Clara says by way of greeting when she walks up to Rose, a crooked grin on her face.

Rose grins back. "Have you had a good Christmas so far?"

"I did, Dad and Chloe and Gran and me. What about you?"

"Yeah, it was good. Mum and Dad and me, and Mickey came round for a bit too. It was much better than I thought it would be, and way better than last year. Last year I just kept thinking about the Doctor, about the last Christmas I spent with him, but this year was much better. And part of that was because of you."

"Me?" Clara exclaims.

"Yeah," Rose says with a quiet laugh. "Spending so much time with you these past few months... you've really helped me move on, and be happy with my life again. And since it's Christmas, I wanted to tell you that tonight, in person."

There's something unfinished about that statement, Rose's mouth still open slightly as she stares at Clara, and Clara feels her heart begin to beat a little faster.

"Is – is there anything else you wanted to tell me?" Clara asks, pressing her lips together as she raises her eyebrows.

Rose blinks, a flush coloring her cheeks that Clara thinks can only partially be blamed on the cold air, and Clara moves a step closer.

"This might sound crazy," she murmurs, folding her arms over her chest. "But – I like you, Rose. I like you a lot."

"Yeah," Rose says softly. "Yeah, I like you a lot too."

"And, since it's Christmas, I think I need to tell you that I – I really need someone like you in my life. If you want to be in it."

Rose bites down on her lip, the corner of her mouth rising. "Yeah, I –"

She stops abruptly when she feels something light brush across her cheek, and she swipes at it before looking up and gasping.

"Clara, it's snowing!"

Clara gives a delighted laugh as she looks up too, and when she looks at Rose again, both of them are grinning ear to ear, hair and eyelashes dotted with white flakes.

There's a heartbeat's hesitation, and then Rose steps forward, bending her head just slightly to press her lips to Clara's. Clara lifts her hand to Rose's cheek as she kisses her back, and they're both grinning again when the kiss breaks.

"Yeah," Rose whispers, breath warm on Clara's lips. "I want to be in your life."

Clara smiles, lifting her other hand to Rose's face, and looks intently at her before kissing her again.

Their foreheads touch when it ends, Clara's hands resting on Rose's neck, while Rose's hands are on Clara's hips, and they can't seem to stop smiling as they pull back to look at each other.

Clara catches a section of Rose's hair, running the soft strands between her fingers, and her smile widens at the sensation, and at the desire to do it again in a significantly warmer location.

"Merry Christmas, Clara," Rose whispers.

Rose's smile is so bright, tears shining in her eyes, and her obvious happiness warms Clara's heart and brings tears to her own eyes as she whispers back, "Merry Christmas, Rose."


End file.
